JPWO2008139556A1 - R-T-B sintered magnet - Google Patents

Abstract

The RTB-based sintered magnet of the present invention has a rare earth element R: 12 atom% or more and 17 atom% or less, boron B: 5.0 atom% or more, 8.0 atom% or less, Al: 0.1 It has the composition of atomic% or more, 1.0 atomic% or less, Mn: 0.02 atomic% or more, less than 0.5 atomic%, transition metal T: balance. The rare earth element R is at least one selected from rare earth elements including Y (yttrium), includes at least one of Nd and Pr, and the transition element T is mainly composed of Fe.

Description

  The present invention relates to an RTB (rare earth-iron-boron) based sintered magnet.

  The RTB-based sintered magnet is used for various applications such as various motors and actuators due to its excellent magnetic properties, and is an indispensable material in the electronics industry. In addition, applications are expanding more and more because of energy conservation.

  In recent years, applications that require higher performance than ever, such as rotating / driving machines for hybrid vehicles and motors for hoisting elevators, have been rapidly expanding, and the required performance has become increasingly severe. ing.

  Originally, the R-T-B magnet has a disadvantage that the Curie point, which is a temperature at which ferromagnetism is lost, is relatively low at about 300 ° C., and the temperature change of the coercive force is large, so that irreversible thermal demagnetization is likely to occur. For this improvement, measures such as adjusting the rare earth species to increase the coercive force or increasing the Curie point by adding Co described in Patent Document 1 have been adopted. There is not much improvement effect.

  Several methods have been proposed for increasing the coercive force.

  One is to include heavy rare earth elements such as Dy and Tb in a specific ratio in the rare earth elements by the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example. In practice, only two types of Dy and Tb are effective. This method increases the coercive force as a magnet by increasing the anisotropy magnetic field itself of the main phase of the magnet responsible for magnetism. However, since heavy rare earth elements such as Dy and Tb are rare and expensive among rare earth elements, problems arise such as high magnet prices when used in large quantities. Moreover, due to the rapid expansion of applications, resource constraints such as reserves and production areas of heavy rare earth elements have become problems.

  Next, for example, a method of increasing the coercive force by using an additive element such as Al, Ga, Sn, Cu, or Ag disclosed in Patent Documents 3 and 4 is provided. The details of these elements have not yet been fully elucidated, but the microscopic structure is changed by changing the physical properties such as the wettability of the grain boundary phase called R-rich with the main phase in the high temperature range. The effect of increasing the coercive force and relaxing the heat treatment conditions for improving the coercive force is known. However, for example, Al dissolves in the main phase of the magnet. It has the disadvantage of reducing the Curie point and magnetization of the phase.

  Furthermore, for example, additive elements such as Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, and W shown in Patent Document 5 suppress crystal grain growth during sintering, and as a result, It works to increase the coercive force by refining the metal structure.

Among these methods, the method using heavy rare earth is most useful because the decrease in magnetic flux density is relatively small. On the other hand, other methods have a narrow application range because a large decrease in the magnetic flux density of the magnet is inevitable. In practical magnets, these techniques are used in appropriate combination.
JP 59-64733 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-34005 JP 59-89401 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-7503 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-23960

  Conventional practical magnets have been designed by combining the above techniques as appropriate in order to achieve the required magnet performance, particularly coercive force. However, there is a need for further improvement in coercive force.

  An object of the present invention is to establish means for effectively improving the coercive force while minimizing the decrease in magnetization, which does not necessarily require heavy rare earth elements such as Dy and Tb.

  The RTB-based sintered magnet of the present invention has a rare earth element R: 12 atom% or more and 17 atom% or less, boron B: 5.0 atom% or more, 8.0 atom% or less, Al: 0.1 Atomic% or more, 1.0 atomic% or less, Mn: 0.02 atomic% or more, less than 0.5 atomic%, transition metal T: balance of rare earth element R, rare earth element including Y (yttrium) It is at least one selected from elements and includes at least one of Nd and Pr, and the transition element T is mainly composed of Fe.

  In a preferred embodiment, the rare earth element R includes at least one of Tb and Dy.

  In a preferred embodiment, the transition metal T contains Co: 20 atomic% or less of the entire magnet.

  Other RTB-based sintered magnets of the present invention are: Rare earth element R: 12 atom% or more and 17 atom% or less, Boron B: 5.0 atom% or more, 8.0 atom% or less, Al: 0 .1 atomic% or more, 1.0 atomic% or less, Mn: 0.02 atomic% or more, less than 0.5 atomic%, additive element M: more than 0 in total, 5.0 atomic% or less, transition metal T: The rare earth element R having the remaining composition is at least one selected from rare earth elements including Y (yttrium), and includes at least one of Nd and Pr, and the additive element M is Ni, Cu, Zn , Ga, Ag, In, Sn, Bi, Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, and W, and the transition element T is mainly composed of Fe. Ingredients.

  In a preferred embodiment, the rare earth element R includes at least one of Tb and Dy.

  In a preferred embodiment, the transition metal T contains Co: 20 atomic% or less.

  In R-T-B based sintered magnets, the coercive force can be improved by adding Al, but by replacing the specific amount of the T component with Mn, the Curie point, saturation magnetization, etc. at the time of adding Al It is possible to minimize the deterioration of the magnetic characteristics of the. That is, by adding a minimum amount of Mn and Al, it is possible to increase the coercive force while suppressing a decrease in magnetic characteristics to a minimum. At the same time, the squareness of the demagnetization curve is also improved.

It is a table | surface which shows a composition of an Example. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the dependence of residual magnetization on the Al addition amount x for five types of Mn addition amounts y in an Nd—Dy—Fe—Co—Cu—B sintered magnet. In a Nd-Dy-Fe-Co-Cu-B sintered magnet, it is a figure which shows Al addition amount x dependence of coercive force about five types of Mn addition amount y. In a Nd-Fe-Co-Cu-Ga-B sintered magnet, it is a figure which shows the Mn addition amount y dependence of the residual magnetization about four types of Al addition amount x. In a Nd-Fe-Co-Cu-Ga-B sintered magnet, it is a figure which shows the Mn addition amount y dependence of coercive force about four types of Al addition amount x.

  According to the study of the present inventor, in addition to the addition of Al to the magnet composition, by adding a specific amount of Mn, the coercive force is increased by the addition of Al, while the magnetization and the Curie point are lowered at the time of Al addition. It has become clear that it can be minimized.

  The RTB-based sintered magnet of the present invention has a rare earth element R: 12 atom% or more and 17 atom% or less, boron B: 5.0 atom% or more, 8.0 atom% or less, Al: 0.1 Atom% or more, 1.0 atom% or less, Mn: 0.02 atom% or more, less than 0.5 atom%, transition metal T: balance.

  The rare earth element R is at least one selected from rare earth elements including Y (yttrium), and includes at least one of Nd and Pr. The transition element T is mainly composed of Fe. Further, in order to obtain various effects, it was selected from the group consisting of Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ag, In, Sn, Bi, Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, and W. At least one additive element M may be added.

  Conventionally, the effect of Mn addition has been recognized as reducing all of the main magnetic properties of the Curie point, anisotropic magnetic field, and magnetization. On the other hand, Al was known to improve the coercive force of the sintered magnet when added, but at the same time had the disadvantage that the Curie point and saturation magnetization were lowered. The improvement in coercive force due to the addition of Al is interpreted not to improve the anisotropic magnetic field of the main phase but to the modification of the grain boundary phase. On the other hand, Al is also relatively large in the main phase. The above-mentioned disadvantage occurs because it dissolves.

However, it was found that when a predetermined amount of Mn was added at the same time as the predetermined amount of Al, the solid solution amount of Al in the main phase decreased, and the deterioration of the magnetic properties during the addition of Al could be suppressed. That is, in a sintered magnet mainly composed of the Nd ₂ Fe ₁₄ B phase, when Fe is replaced with Mn, Mn is dissolved in the main phase, but at this time, the effect of suppressing the amount of Al dissolved in the main phase. As a result, the coercive force can be improved while minimizing the deterioration of the magnetic characteristics. Mn addition itself also reduces the coercive force and magnetization, but the effect is small since the effect can be obtained with a very small addition amount.

  Further, it has been clarified that the addition of Mn can improve the sintering behavior in the manufacturing process of the R-T-B sintered magnet. That is, since the sintering reaction sufficiently proceeds at a low temperature or in a short time as compared with the prior art, the structure of the magnet becomes more uniform, and the squareness of the demagnetization curve is improved in terms of the performance of the magnet.

[composition]
If the amount of the rare earth element is within the predetermined range shown below, the greater the coercive force, the lower the residual magnetization. If it is less than 12 atomic%, the amount of the main phase R ₂ T ₁₄ B compound is reduced, and instead, a soft magnetic phase such as αFe is generated, and the coercive force is greatly reduced. On the other hand, if it exceeds 17 atomic%, the amount of the R ₂ T ₁₄ B compound as the main phase decreases and magnetization decreases, and surplus R collects in the main phase grain boundaries in a metallic state. This reaction is likely to occur, and the corrosion resistance may be significantly reduced. Therefore, R is preferably 12 atom% or more and 17 atom% or less. More preferably, R is 12.5 atomic% or more and 15 atomic% or less.

  Among the rare earth elements R, at least one of Nd and Pr is indispensable for obtaining a high-performance magnet. When a higher coercive force is required, Tb or Dy can be used as a part of R. When the total substitution amount by at least one of Tb and Dy exceeds 6 atomic%, the remanent magnetization is less than 1.1 T, and the performance is reversed from that of the Sm-Co magnet particularly when considering use in a high temperature environment. Further, when Tb and Dy are used in large quantities, the raw material cost of the magnet becomes high, and in this respect as well, the advantage over the Sm-Co magnet is reduced. Therefore, the amount of industrially useful Tb and / or Dy is 6 Atomic% or less. Furthermore, other rare earth elements including Y are not useful in terms of magnetic properties, but can be included as inevitable impurities.

Boron is an essential element for an R-T-B based sintered magnet, and the amount thereof determines the amount of the R ₂ T ₁₄ B compound that is the main phase. In order to obtain a large magnetization while ensuring the coercive force of the sintered magnet, the amount of B is important. If the amount of B is an amount in the predetermined range shown below, it becomes easier to obtain a larger coercive force as it increases. Further, since the coercive force when the amount of B is small rapidly decreases with a predetermined amount of B as a boundary, it is particularly important that the amount of B does not fall below the predetermined amount industrially. The residual magnetization decreases as the amount of B increases. When the amount of B is less than 5.0 atomic%, the amount of the main phase decreases, and a soft magnetic compound other than the main phase is generated, and the coercive force of the magnet decreases. On the other hand, if it exceeds 8.0 atomic%, the amount of the main phase is reduced and the magnetization of the magnet is lowered. Therefore, the amount of B is 5.0 atomic% or more and 8.0 atomic% or less. In order to obtain a high-performance magnet, a more preferable range is 5.5 atomic percent or more and 8.0 atomic percent or less, and a further preferable range is 5.5 atomic percent or more and 7.0 atomic percent or less.

  When Al is added to the RTB-based sintered magnet, the coercive force is improved, while the magnetization is lowered and the Curie point is also lowered. The coercive force increases with the addition of a small amount of Al. However, even if the Al addition amount is increased, the coercive force does not improve beyond a certain level. This suggests that the cause of the improvement in the coercive force is not the improvement of the magnetic properties of the main phase but the improvement of the physical properties of the grain boundaries.

  Therefore, although Al exists in the main phase and the grain boundary in the structure of the magnet, it can be said that it is Al existing in the grain boundary phase that contributes to the improvement of the coercive force. Al present in the main phase adversely affects the magnetic properties and should be reduced as much as possible. For this purpose, simultaneous addition of Mn described below is effective.

  On the premise that Mn is added simultaneously, the preferable addition amount of Al is 0.1 atomic% or more and 1.0 atomic% or less. If the Al content is less than 0.1 atomic%, the effect of improving the physical properties of the grain boundary phase cannot be obtained, and a high coercive force cannot be obtained. On the other hand, if it exceeds 1.0 atomic%, there is no further effect of improving the coercive force, and even if Mn is added simultaneously, the amount of Al dissolved in the main phase increases, the magnetization significantly decreases, and the Curie point is reduced. Since it falls, it is not preferable.

  Mn is mostly dissolved in the main phase in the magnet alloy, and all of the magnetization, anisotropic magnetic field and Curie point of the main phase are lowered. However, by adding Mn, other additive elements such as Al It works to reduce the amount of solid solution in the main phase.

  When the amount of Mn exceeds 0.5 atomic%, a decrease in magnetization becomes apparent, and a decrease in coercive force also becomes apparent. For this reason, the amount of Mn added is preferably less than 0.5 atomic%, and more preferably 0.2 atomic% or less. On the other hand, if the Mn addition amount is less than 0.02 atomic%, the effect of the present invention does not appear, so the Mn addition amount is preferably 0.02 atomic% or more. In order to enhance the effect of improving the sintering behavior by Mn, it is preferable that the amount of Mn added is 0.05 atomic% or more.

Mn is considered to be the only cost-effective element that can exhibit the effect of improving the sinterability. The reason for this is considered that Mn is the only useful element and is an element that is substantially dissolved in the main phase only. Conventionally, Al and Cu have been cited as elements for improving the sinterability, but these elements exhibit the effect of improving the physical properties of the grain boundary phase and are the main phase R _2. It only acts indirectly on the T ₁₄ B phase sintering reaction. On the other hand, since Mn is involved in the precipitation of the main phase, it directly acts on the sintering reaction. For this reason, in the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously improve the physical properties of the grain boundary phase with Al and to improve the sinterability of the main phase with Mn. Therefore, by adjusting the amounts of Mn and Al, which will be described later, within a specific range, an RTB-based sintered magnet can be manufactured stably and efficiently.

  By the way, Al and Mn may be inevitably mixed by raw materials. For example, Al may be contained as an impurity in a ferroboron alloy, and may be mixed from a crucible component during melting. Mn may be mixed from iron raw materials or ferroboron. However, unless both the amounts of Al and Mn are controlled within a specific range, the effect of the present invention cannot be obtained. In implementing the present invention, the amounts of Al and Mn must be managed from the manufacturing process of the raw material alloy.

In an RTB-based sintered magnet, in order to improve magnetic properties, particularly the Curie point and the corrosion resistance, a part of Fe may be substituted with Co. When Co is added, a part thereof replaces Fe of the main phase and raises the Curie point. The remaining Co is present at the grain boundaries and forms a compound such as Nd ₃ Co to enhance the chemical stability of the grain boundaries. However, if a large amount of Co is present, a ferromagnetic and soft magnetic compound is generated at the grain boundary, a reverse magnetic domain is easily generated against the demagnetizing field, and domain wall movement occurs, which reduces the coercive force of the magnet. End up.

The transition metal T is based on Fe. This is because the R ₂ T ₁₄ B compound provides the highest magnetization when T is Fe. Moreover, it is cheaper than Co and Ni which are other useful ferromagnetic transition metals.

  In carrying out the present invention, if the addition of Co is within a specific range, the above-described adverse effects can be avoided. In addition, the addition of Co is preferable because effects such as an increase in the Curie point and improvement in corrosion resistance can be obtained without hindering the effects of the present invention. If the Co addition amount exceeds 20 atomic%, the decrease in magnetization increases, and the coercive force decreases due to the precipitation of the soft magnetic phase, so the upper limit of the Co addition amount is preferably 20 atomic%.

  The additive element M has the first effect of the first group of Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ag, In, Sn, and Bi, and the first of Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, and W due to its operational effects. Divided into two groups. Unlike the Al, the former first group hardly dissolves in the main phase, exists mainly at the grain boundary, and contributes to the interaction between the grain boundary phase and the main phase. Specifically, the melting point of the grain boundary phase is lowered to improve the sintering behavior of the magnet, or the wettability between the main phase and the grain boundary phase is improved so that the grain boundary phase is effectively wrapped around the main phase interface. As a result, it works to increase the coercive force of the magnet. Of these elements, Cu is most effectively used, and Ga and Ag are excellent in the effect of improving characteristics, although they are disadvantageous in that they are expensive. Of these, Ni, when added in a large amount, dissolves in the main phase and has the disadvantage of lowering the magnetization of the main phase. On the other hand, the latter second group serves to increase the coercive force by making the sintered structure fine by an action such as forming fine precipitates having a high melting point.

  Since all elements of the first and second groups except for Ni do not function as a ferromagnetic phase, the magnetization of the magnet decreases when the amount added is large. When a large amount of Ni is added to form a soft magnetic compound at the grain boundary, the coercive force is lowered. Therefore, the maximum amount of these additive elements is 5 atomic% or less in total of all the elements. More preferably, 2 atomic% or less is good. A plurality of elements from the first group can be used, and a plurality of elements from the second group can be used. A combination of the first group element and the second group element can also be used.

  The other elements are not limited to the present invention, but are irrelevant to the effects of the present invention, and do not exclude their presence. For example, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are inevitable in the manufacturing process, and are detected in the examples of the present invention. Among these, carbon and nitrogen may be partially substituted with B, but in that case, there is a significant influence on magnetic properties such as a decrease in the coercive force of the magnet. In ordinary sintered magnets, carbon and nitrogen, like oxygen, react with rare earth elements to form some form of carbides, nitrides and oxides, and exist in a form that does not affect magnetic properties. It seems to be. Also, hydrogen and nitrogen can be expected to enter the lattice of the main phase and improve the Curie point. However, when added in a large amount, the coercive force is lowered. Both are independent of the present invention. F, Cl, Mg, Ca and the like may be mixed in the refining process of the rare earth metal and may be included in the magnet composition as it is. P and S may be contained in the Fe raw material. In addition to the incorporation of Si from the ferroboron alloy that is a raw material source, there is a possibility that a crucible component may be mixed when the mother alloy for magnet is melted.

[Production method]
In the present invention, the same effect can be obtained by any manufacturing method of the RTB-based sintered magnet. Therefore, the manufacturing method is not limited, but an example of the manufacturing method is shown below.

[Raw material alloy]
Raw material alloys produced by various production methods and having various forms can be used. Typical examples of the raw material alloy include ingots, strip casts, atomized powders, powders obtained by a reduction diffusion method, and alloy ribbons obtained by a rapid quenching method. These raw material alloys are not only used alone, but also different kinds of raw material alloys can be mixed and used. Further, a so-called two-alloy method in which alloys having different compositions are used in combination can be employed. In this case, Mn and Al are contained in either alloy, in both alloys, or in the alloy closer to the magnet composition: Mn is contained in the main alloy and Al is added in the added alloy. The effect of the present invention can be exhibited in the method of inclusion. Furthermore, the improvement of sinterability, which is one of the effects of the present invention, can also be achieved by a method in which Al is contained in the main alloy and Mn is contained in the additive alloy.

  In the production of the raw material alloy, pure iron, ferroboron alloy, pure B, rare earth metal, rare earth-iron alloy, etc. can be used as raw materials, and some contain Mn and Al, which are essential elements of the present invention, as impurities. . Therefore, a raw material containing Mn and Al as impurities can be used so that Mn and Al finally have a specific composition range, or Mn and Al can be added separately. In general, it is difficult to control to a specific composition range only by controlling the amount of impurities, so an appropriate amount of Mn or Al is added to Mn and Al contained as impurities so that the specific composition range is achieved. To do.

  About M element, it can also add with a pure metal, for example, can also be added with the form of an alloy with iron.

  The master alloy can also be heat-treated for the purpose of improving the structure, improving the element distribution, homogenizing, and the like.

[Crushing]
An arbitrary method is also employed for the pulverization step. Although it can be selected depending on the properties of the starting material, for example, when a strip cast alloy is used as the starting material, it often passes through two steps of coarse pulverization and fine pulverization. At this time, the coarse pulverization can be performed by a mechanical pulverization method or a pulverization method using hydrogen embrittlement suitable for rare earth alloys. The hydrogen embrittlement method is a method in which an alloy is sealed together with hydrogen gas in a container, hydrogen gas is allowed to penetrate into the alloy, and pulverization is performed using strain associated with the volume change of the alloy at that time. In this method, since a large amount of hydrogen is contained in the coarse powder, excess hydrogen can be released by heating the coarse powder as necessary.

  In addition, after coarse pulverization and before the fine pulverization step, the particle size can be made equal to or less than a specific particle size using, for example, a sieve.

  For the fine pulverization, jet mill pulverization using a high-speed air flow is generally used. However, a mechanical pulverization method and wet ball mill pulverization using a dispersion medium can also be used. Further, a grinding aid may be added in advance at the time of grinding. This is particularly useful for increasing the pulverization efficiency in the fine pulverization step.

  Regarding the handling of the raw material alloy and the handling of the pulverized powder, it is important to handle in an inert atmosphere in order to produce a high-performance magnet. As the inert atmosphere, nitrogen gas is sufficient for handling at least at room temperature, but helium gas or argon gas needs to be used when heat treatment at 300 ° C. or higher is performed, for example.

  The pulverized particle size may be determined from the performance of the magnet and the restrictions on handling in the next molding step, but is usually set to 3-7 μm as the D50 particle size by the air flow dispersion type laser diffraction method. On the contrary, this particle size is a particle size range that can be easily obtained by a high-speed airflow type pulverization method. The reason why the fine particle size is measured by the airflow dispersion method is that the fine powder is ferromagnetic and easily magnetically aggregates.

[Molding]
In an anisotropic sintered magnet, fine powder is formed in a magnetic field to impart magnetic anisotropy of the magnet. In general, the fine powder obtained in the pulverization process is filled in a die hole of a molding machine, a magnetic field is applied from the outside while forming a cavity with a punch, and the mold is taken out after being pressed with a punch as it is. In this step, the raw material fine powder may be added with a lubricant for the purpose of improving the orientation by the magnetic field and for the purpose of enhancing the mold lubrication. This lubricant may be solid or liquid and may be selected in consideration of various factors. Moreover, it can also be appropriately granulated for the purpose of facilitating filling of the die holes.

  Further, as a magnetic field applied for orientation, not only a static magnetic field by a DC power source but also a pulse magnetic field by a capacitor discharge or an AC magnetic field can be used, for example.

  In the composition system of the present invention, the strength of the magnetic field is usually 0.4 MA / m or more, more preferably 0.8 MA / m or more. Further, a reverse magnetic field may be applied as a demagnetization treatment after molding. By the demagnetization treatment, there is no residual magnetism in the subsequent handling of the molded body, and there is an effect that the handling becomes easy.

  In addition, the magnet of various orientation states can be made by devising the direction of the magnetic field application at the time of shaping. For example, in the annular shape, in addition to the axial orientation, radial radial orientation and polar anisotropic orientation having a plurality of magnetic poles are possible.

  As a molding method, a method using a rubber mold, for example, a method called RIP can be applied in addition to a method using a die and a punch.

  Furthermore, you may perform shaping | molding and a magnetic field application separately.

[Sintering]
The sintering process is performed in a vacuum or an argon gas atmosphere. The pressure of the atmosphere can be arbitrarily set. For example, a method of reducing pressure while introducing Ar gas or a method of pressurizing with Ar gas can be applied. In the case of the magnet of the present invention, the gas contained in the raw material powder is released in the temperature rising process before the sintering process, or for the purpose of evaporating the lubricant, binder, shape retention agent, etc. added during the process, The temperature raising process during sintering may be performed under reduced pressure, and may be held at a constant temperature for a certain time during the temperature raising. In order to efficiently release the lubricant, binder, and shape-retaining agent, the specific temperature range in the temperature raising process can be a hydrogen atmosphere. Although sintering is possible even in a helium gas atmosphere, helium gas is expensive in Japan, and the thermal efficiency of the sintering furnace may decrease due to the good heat conduction of helium gas.

  Sintering is usually performed at 1000 ° C. to 1100 ° C. for 30 minutes to 16 hours. Since liquid phase sintering is performed within the composition range of the present invention, a very high temperature is not necessary. In addition, it can also sinter in multiple times at the same temperature or different temperature. For the cooling after holding the temperature, rapid cooling or gradual cooling is not necessarily required, and conditions can be appropriately combined including the following heat treatment.

  After sintering, a specific gravity of 7.3 or more is obtained with the magnet of the present invention. More preferably, it is 7.4 or more.

  Any sintering means used in the powder metallurgy method, such as hot pressing that heats while applying pressure from the outside, and electric sintering that energizes the molded body and overheats by Joule heat, can be applied. When these methods are used, the sintering temperature and time are not limited to the above.

[Heat treatment]
For the purpose of increasing the coercive force, heat treatment can be performed at a sintering temperature or lower after the end of sintering. Further, this heat treatment may be performed a plurality of times at the same temperature or at different temperatures. Various conditions can be selected for the cooling conditions during the heat treatment.

  If a sufficient coercive force is obtained after sintering, it is not necessary to perform heat treatment.

[processing]
Although the sintered magnet may be in a state close to the final shape, it is generally finished into a predetermined shape by machining such as cutting, grinding, and polishing. Note that this processing may be performed after sintering, before or after heat treatment, or in the middle of a plurality of heat treatments.

[surface treatment]
Since the sintered magnet of the composition system of the present invention generates rust in the long term in a normal environment, the surface is appropriately coated. For example, resin coating, metal plating, vapor deposition film, and the like are used, and an appropriate surface treatment can be selected in consideration of application, required performance, and cost. Of course, the surface treatment may not be performed if protection by the surface treatment is unnecessary depending on the use environment.

[Magnetic]
The magnet of the present invention is usually magnetized with a pulsed magnetic field. In general, this process is often performed after assembly because of the convenience of assembling the product, but naturally it is also possible to magnetize the magnet alone and then incorporate it into the product.

  Naturally, the direction of magnetization should be determined in consideration of the orientation direction during molding in a magnetic field, and a high-performance magnet can be obtained only when the directions match. There is no need to match the directions.

Example 1
Pr and Nd with a purity of 99.5% or more, Tb, Dy, electrolytic iron, low carbon ferroboron alloy with a purity of 99.9% or more, and other target elements in the form of alloys with pure metals or Fe The alloy having the composition was melted and cast by a strip casting method to obtain a plate-like alloy having a thickness of 0.3 to 0.4 mm.

  Using this alloy as a raw material, hydrogen embrittlement was performed in a hydrogen-pressurized atmosphere, and after heating and cooling to 600 ° C. in a vacuum, a coarse alloy powder having a particle size of 425 μm or less was obtained with a sieve. 0.05% zinc stearate by mass ratio was added to and mixed with the coarse powder.

  Next, using a jet mill apparatus, dry pulverization was performed in a nitrogen stream to obtain finely pulverized powder having a particle diameter D50 of 4 to 5 μm. At this time, particularly in a sample that targets an oxygen amount of 1 atomic% or less, the oxygen concentration in the pulverized gas is controlled to 50 ppm or less. The particle diameter is a value obtained by a laser diffraction method using an airflow dispersion method.

  The obtained fine powder was molded in a magnetic field to produce a molded body. The magnetic field at this time was a static magnetic field of approximately 0.8 MA / m, and the applied pressure was 196 MPa. The magnetic field application direction and the pressing direction are orthogonal to each other. In particular, in the sample with the oxygen amount as a target, the atmosphere from the pulverization to the sintering furnace was set to a nitrogen atmosphere as much as possible.

Next, this compact was sintered in a vacuum at a temperature range of 1020-1080 ° C. for 2 hours. Although the sintering temperature differs depending on the composition, in each case, sintering was performed by selecting a low temperature within a range in which the density after sintering was 7.5 Mg / m ³ .

  The result of analyzing the composition of the obtained sintered body is shown in FIG. For analysis, ICP was used. However, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon are the results of analysis by a gas analyzer. In addition, as for the sample, as a result of the hydrogen analysis by the dissolution method, the amount of hydrogen was in the range of 10-30 ppm. The magnet characteristics are shown in Table 1 below.

  In elements other than the table, Si, Ca, Cr, La, Ce, etc. may be detected in addition to hydrogen, but Si is mainly mixed from the ferroboron raw material and the crucible at the time of alloy dissolution, and Ca, La, Ce Is mixed from rare earth materials. Further, Cr may be mixed from iron, and these cannot be completely reduced to zero.

The obtained sintered body was heat-treated at various temperatures for 1 hour in an Ar atmosphere and cooled. The heat treatment is performed under various temperature conditions depending on the composition, and some heat treatments are performed up to three times at different temperatures. After machining these samples, the magnetic properties J _r and H _cJ at room temperature were measured with a _BH tracer. Further, a part of the sample was omitted to make a sample of about 20-50 mg, and the Curie point _Tc was determined by thermobalance measurement in a magnetic field. In this method, a weak magnetic field generated by a permanent magnet is applied to the sample from the outside of the thermobalance, and the change in magnetic force caused by the sample changing from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic is detected by the balance. The temperature at which the rate of change is maximized is obtained by differentiating the value. In addition, the sample with the largest coercive force at room temperature among the samples with various heat treatment conditions among the samples of each composition was evaluated.

Sample 17-20 corresponds to a comparative example. 17 and 18 are Mn: <0.02 atomic%, and the remanent magnetization J _r and the Curie point T _c are inferior to those of the examples of similar compositions. No. In _No. 17, since Mn: <0.02 atomic%, the coercive force H _cJ is low despite the addition of Al. No. 19 is a case where both Mn and Al are excessive, and both the remanent magnetization J _r and the Curie point T _c are low. No. 20 is Al: <0.1 atomic%, and the coercive force H _cJ is particularly low.

(Example 2)
_{Nd 13.0 Dy 0.7 Fe bal. Co} 2.2 Cu 0.1 B 5.9 Al x Mn y ( atomic%) in the magnet composition, for the case of y = 0.01,0.05,0.10,0.40,0.80 FIG. 2 shows room temperature remanent magnetization J _r for various values of Al, and FIG. 3 shows coercivity H _cJ at room temperature. The data of y = 0.01 is shown as a comparative example. The amount of oxygen at this time is 1.8 atomic%, and other carbon and nitrogen are also contained at 0.4 atomic% or less and 0.1 atomic% or less, respectively, and inevitable impurities such as Si, Ca, La and Ce are also present. Each contains 0.1 atomic percent or less. In addition, the magnet of Example 2 was based on the manufacturing method similar to Example 1.

According to FIG. 2, than in the case of y = 0.01, towards the case of y = 0.05 is a small decrease in remanence J _r when Al addition, main phase amount of solute Al by Mn addition is This is thought to be a result of the decrease. Further, in the case of y = 0.80, the remanent magnetization _Jr greatly decreases due to the increase of the main phase solid solution amount of Mn.

Moreover, according to FIG. 3, as a result of Al concentrating more in a grain boundary phase by Mn addition, it turns out that coercive force _HcJ improves with a little Al addition. On the other hand, at y = 0.80, the coercive force H _cJ is greatly reduced due to the increase in the main phase solid solution amount of Mn.

(Example 3)
Nd _12.8 Fe _bal. In magnets _{Co 2.2 Cu 0.1 Ga 0.05 B 5.7} Al x Mn y ( atomic%) Composition, for the case of x = 0.02,0.50,1.00,1.50, various Mn FIG. 4 shows the room temperature remanent magnetization J _r for the value y, and FIG. 5 shows the coercivity H _cJ at room temperature. Data with x = 0.02 and 1.50 are shown as comparative examples. The amount of oxygen at this time is 1.8 atomic%, and other carbon and nitrogen are also contained at 0.4 atomic% or less and 0.1 atomic% or less, respectively, and inevitable impurities such as Si, Ca, La and Ce are also present. Each contains 0.1 atomic percent or less. In addition, the magnet of Example 3 was based on the manufacturing method similar to Example 1.

According to FIG. 4, when Al: x = 0.5 atomic% is added without adding Mn, the remanent magnetization _Jr greatly decreases. However, when y = 0.05, the remanent magnetization J due to the presence or absence of Al. The difference in _r is very small. Further, at x = 1.50, the residual magnetization _Jr greatly decreases because the main phase solid solution amount of Al itself increases.

On the other hand, according to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the addition of Al improves the coercive force H _cJ uniformly regardless of the amount of Mn.

Example 4
In the same manner as in Example 1, sintered magnets having the compositions shown in Table 2 were obtained. The composition of Table 2 is an analysis value converted to atomic% from the results of ICP and gas analysis. In addition to those shown in Table 2, inevitable impurities such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, Si, Ca, La, and Ce are included.

  Table 3 shows the magnet characteristics.

Residual magnetization J _r , coercive force H _cJ , and Curie point T _c were evaluated by the same method as in Example 1, and are shown in the table. The present example shows the influence of the R amount, B amount, and Co amount in the composition range of the present application while keeping the Al amount and Mn amount constant, and all show good magnetic properties.

(Example 5)
For magnets having a composition of Nd _13.8 Fe _bal. Al _0.2 Mn _x B _6.0 (atomic%), sintered magnets having various values of x were prepared, and magnetic properties were evaluated. The evaluation results are shown in Table 4.

The manufacturing method was performed in the same manner as in Example 1, and sintering was performed at 1020 ° C. for 2 hours with all the compositions. Moreover, the heat treatment after sintering was performed in a range of 560 ° C. to 640 ° C., and the best magnetic properties were evaluated. In the evaluation of magnetic characteristics, H _k was obtained as an index, and the value of H _k / H _cJ was used as an index of squareness. H _k is the value of the demagnetizing field when the magnetization value becomes 90% of the remanent magnetization J _r in the demagnetizing field. The closer the value of H _k / H _cJ is to 1, the better the squareness is. It is judged as useful. In Mn content x ≧ 0.02 atomic%, clearly density [rho, is observed improvement in remanence J _r. On the other hand, when the amount of Mn added x> 0.5 atomic%, the remanent magnetization _Jr is remarkably lowered and is equal to or less than that in the case of no Mn addition.

  In addition, according to gas analysis, as an inevitable impurity contained in a sintered magnet, oxygen: 0.41-0.44 mass%, carbon: 0.037-0.043 mass%, nitrogen: 0.012-0. 015% by mass, hydrogen: <0.002% by mass. Further, according to ICP analysis, a maximum of 0.04% by mass of Si and 0.01% by mass or less of Cr, Ce, Ca and the like were detected.

(Example 6)
Ingot method or strip cast method: Master alloy is produced by SC method, coarsely pulverized by hydrogen embrittlement method, finely pulverized by airflow type pulverizer, fine particle size: D50 = 4.1-4.8 μm Got. This was mixed with 0.05% by mass of zinc stearate as an internal lubricant, and was molded in a magnetic field. The magnetic field strength at this time was 1.2 MAm ⁻³ and the applied pressure was 196 MPa. Note that the pressing direction and the magnetic field application direction are orthogonal to each other.

The obtained molded body was vacuum-sintered by setting temperature conditions for each composition, and a sintered body having a density of 7.5 Mgm ⁻³ or more was obtained. Each of the obtained sintered bodies was heat-treated at various temperatures, and thereafter, a magnetic sample was formed by machining, and the magnetic properties were measured with a closed circuit BH tracer. In addition, about the sample whose coercive force is 1500 kAm < ^-1 > or more, the coercive force was measured again with the pulse method: TPM type magnetometer by Toei Kogyo.

  Some samples: Sample No. Nos. 58 and 62 are handled in a substantially inert gas atmosphere after the pulverization step.

  Table 5 shows the composition of the sintered magnet: ICP analysis value, where O represents the analysis value obtained by gas analysis converted to atomic%. Table 6 shows the magnetic characteristics under the condition that the maximum coercive force was obtained in each sample.

  Regardless of whether the alloy manufacturing method is an ingot method or a strip cast method, excellent magnetic properties are obtained by simultaneously adding Al and Mn for each additive element.

  Impurities other than those described are carbon: 0.031-0.085% by mass, nitrogen 0.013-0.034% by mass, hydrogen: <0.003% by mass, Si: <0.04% by mass, La , Ce and Ca were each detected <0.01% by mass.

  The sintered magnet according to the present invention can be widely used in various applications where a high-performance sintered magnet is used.

Claims (6)

Rare earth element R: 12 atomic% or more, 17 atomic% or less,
Boron B: 5.0 atomic% or more, 8.0 atomic% or less,
Al: 0.1 atomic% or more, 1.0 atomic% or less,
Mn: 0.02 atomic% or more, less than 0.5 atomic%,
Transition metal T: having the balance composition,
The rare earth element R is at least one selected from rare earth elements including Y (yttrium), and includes at least one of Nd and Pr.
The transition element T is an RTB-based sintered magnet whose main component is Fe.   The RTB-based sintered magnet according to claim 1, wherein the rare earth element R includes at least one of Tb and Dy.   The RTB-based sintered magnet according to claim 1, wherein the transition metal T contains Co: 20 atomic% or less of the entire magnet. Rare earth element R: 12 atomic% or more, 17 atomic% or less,
Boron B: 5.0 atomic% or more, 8.0 atomic% or less,
Al: 0.1 atomic% or more, 1.0 atomic% or less,
Mn: 0.02 atomic% or more, less than 0.5 atomic%,
Additive element M: more than 0 in total, 5.0 atomic% or less,
Transition metal T: having the balance composition,
The rare earth element R is at least one selected from rare earth elements including Y (yttrium), and includes at least one of Nd and Pr.
The additive element M is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ag, In, Sn, Bi, Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, and W. Yes,
The transition element T is an RTB-based sintered magnet whose main component is Fe.   The RTMB-based sintered magnet according to claim 4, wherein the rare earth element R includes at least one of Tb and Dy.   6. The RTMB-based sintered magnet according to claim 5, wherein the transition metal T contains Co: 20 atomic% or less.

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